The Perfect Day

Let me describe for you the perfect day. It’s a Wednesday. Maybe not every Wednesday, but last Wednesday for sure. It began at half nine rather than half eight. I took the Dart at half eleven out to Howth (you know, the coastal town I’m moving to later in life). I was picked up by Eammon, editor of the last documentary Campbell Ryan worked on. He took me to his house, in Howth, where I interviewed him and shot some actuality footage of him editing for a behind-the-scenes segment. He showed me the editing suite he has in the front hall of his house. He works on a giant Mac with a 72” flat screen TV connected to it, so he can watch what he is editing on the TV while he is working on it. As if that set-up weren’t enough, the room contains one giant picture window that overlooks the coast. If I could wake up every morning, go downstairs, make myself a cup of my roommate’s Columbian coffee, and go down the hall to work in room like that, I would be one happy camper. Once we were finished Eammon took me back to the Dart station, and I arrived back in Dublin by half one with the whole day still ahead of me. That night, I got on a bus at five and road out to the pitch where the women’s Gaelic football team was playing their semi-final match. I filmed more behind-the-scenes action while Mairtín and his crew gathered establishing shots and pregame talks. During the match, I filmed some of the crowd and crew, but mostly just enjoyed my first Gaelic football game. It’s an interesting sport that is played with a volleyball-like ball. You can run up to three steps before you have to bump it off to another player, bounce it off the ground, or drop it and kick it back up to you with your foot. You can shoot it in a soccer goal for three points or kick it over football field goal posts for one point. Round Towers, the team we were filming, were underdogs with their best goalkeeper out on an injury, and the score was going back and forth. In the end, Round Towers came out on top and are headed to the finals next Wednesday.

A whole day out of the office, just filming, that is the perfect day.

Let me describe to you the perfect day. It’s a Saturday. Maybe not every Saturday but last Saturday for sure. Another Heather and I took the Dart out to Sandycove where we found a coastline that rivaled my love for Howth.

It had sand, and giant rocks to climb on, and a swimming area (with freezing water). We explored a bit and even found a little castle. And the weather! It was summer for real. I was wishing for a tank top and had I brought my bathing suit with me from the apartment, I would have been swimming (for about five minutes, that was about as long as I could keep my feet in at one time). For lunch, we stopped at a cute little bagel café before wandering the streets of Dun Laoghrie and coming home.

A whole day on a sunny coastline, that is the perfect day.

Let me describe to you the perfect day. It’s a Sunday. Maybe not every Sunday, but last Sunday for sure. It started bright and early for another Extreme Ireland tour. Unfortunately, we were without Bud again, but we did get his friend, Joey, who he had said was second next to him. Joey was hysterical and taught us a bunch of Irish songs (one of which I will most definitely be bringing back to camp). Six of us took our chances with the Protestant Irish and ventured north because we could not ignore the beauty of Giant’s Causeway. We made our venture, on a giant tour bus rather than a van to accommodate all the people, to the land of the sterling on another beautiful day, this time I did where a tank top. We started at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. We crossed the rickety, bouncing rope bridge to get out to this grassy island with rocky cliffs that I dared myself to get closer and closer to.

From there we went on the Giant’s Causeway, a beautiful natural phenomenon where rocks were formed in straight columns.

Next stop was Belfast, but on the way we saw the castle that inspired C.S. Lewis’ Cair Paravel.

Belfast, interestingly enough, was where the Titanic was built. Unfortunately, being Sunday, it was closed. But we did find a monument for it in City Centre.

A day exploring the beauty of Northern Ireland, completely safe, that is the perfect day.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

It was a sad end to a great night walking away from Alex as she and her Study Abroad group piled into a cab. I got to tour the pretty campus of University College Dublin as I got lost trying to find where Alex was staying, I met some fun people from Arizona State, and we found this great dance club to celebrate our last night in Dublin together. As if being abroad weren’t fantastic enough, I had a little time to share it with one of my best friends. I desperately hope I get a chance to repeat the experience with all of them. I hugged Alex goodbye knowing our adventures in Dublin were over (for now) but walked away with the silver lining that my adventures in Dublin with new friends were just beginning.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize one of those adventures would be battling a seven-hour workday with a cold. My first week in Dublin and I get taken over by a running nose and scratching throat. The loud coughs and constant trips to the bathroom to blow my nose are making a lovely impression on my coworkers, I’m sure. Thankfully, they are feigning ignorance. After living for so long in this climate maybe their bodies are immune to colds. Or maybe it is because they are all such genuinely friendly people. Whatever the case, bottom-line, I am still able to get my work done, so all is well. My work, which has, thus far, consisted of researching for upcoming documentaries and writing pitches to get funding for these documentaries. All interesting, though albeit not very hands-on tasks. It is still early though, and the company is in that stage between the end of post-production on one docu-series and the start of production on another docu-series. In layman’s terms, there isn’t much to edit yet. I got to meet the lead editor, and he was nice and friendly (who isn’t in Ireland?). Right now, I’m just really looking forward to the next day shoot, so I get to do some work on-set.

There have been many other adventures besides my cold, though. That’s one of the things I love about Dublin. There is always something to see or do. On Friday, I went with another GE intern to Merion Square where we saw some fantastic street performers. Merion Square had a festival going on this weekend, and part of it was performances for the Street Performers World Championship. There were showmen from Australia, England, USA, Japan, Sweden, and all over the world.

Besides that, Merion had a variety of food booths, a carousel, and the ride with swings that spins. Saturday had much more, including a breaking of the world record for most people dressed up as ‘Where’s Waldo?’ in one spot. I will never wonder where he is again. I can safely say he is definitely in Dublin. I wasn’t there for the Saturday festivities, though. A group of eleven of us got on an eighteen-passenger van at 6:45 AM and set out for the Irish countryside with our driver, Bud. Bud was the best guide we could possibly ask for. He was an adorable Irish grandpa filled with jokes and interesting stories and tidbits. We started our tour with a stop at the Blarney castle. The castle and land around it was beautiful. After spelunking in the dungeon, we made our way up the ever winding and narrowing staircase to the top of Blarney castle. There, at the top, I lied on my back and craned my neck to give the rock wall a smooch, probably passing my cold on to everyone behind me, in hopes that I will become incredibly lucky and eloquent. I know it may be gross, but I came all this way. How could I not? Bud said it was safe!

Next was a stop in Cork. Bud directed us to this tucked away restaurant where they serve really good traditional Irish food. We got hit with some really windy showers on the way, so I was looking for something to warm me from the inside out.

I decided it was time for my first Irish Stew, and learned that the driver was misleading us. The restaurant didn’t serve really good traditional Irish food; it served absolutely amazing traditional Irish food. It filled me right up, and then some, and was exactly what I needed. After lunch, we took our time looking through the shopping markets in Cork.

From Cork we went on to the Rock of Cashel. It was a breathtaking 4^th century castle where Saint Patrick had spent some time living. It was truly awe-inspiring to be standing in a place where people had stood back in the year 400 AD, to touch what they touched, to see what they saw. I can only imagine what everyday life would have been like walking through those rooms. Outside the castle, there was a graveyard with graves dating from the early 1700’s to the mid 1900s. The whole experience just reminded me of how much I love history.

On our way back, Bud took us through some impressive countryside. At one point, he pulled over to the side of the road so we could get out to admire some fluffy Irish sheep.

We got back around 7:30 PM, and Bud left us with some big Irish hugs. It was such a fulfilling day that really made me feel like I was in Ireland.

On Sunday, six of us from the day before and 3 others took a thirty-minute train ride out to Howth. It’s a small coastal town just north of Dublin. The coastline was beautiful, and the area was so peaceful; it was a very calming place, unlike the hustle and bustle of Dublin.

We went to a restaurant called Beshoffs, as per Bud’s recommendation, for the best fish-n-chips in all of Ireland.

As usual, Bud knows best. The meal was delicious, and we got to eat it while admiring the sailboats in the harbor. After eating, we took a stroll out on the pier where a man told us he’d give us a group discount for a boat ride out to the scenic island just off the coast. We agreed and set sail for some closer picture taking. Once we got close to it, the captain pointed out some seals swimming around nearby. On the island there was a lighthouse from the 16^th century that the British had built, along with a few others scattered up the coast, for fear that Napoleon would try to invade.

When we made it back to land, we browsed through the street markets they had set up before heading back to Dublin. On the way back to our apartments, we passed Merion Square, still buzzing with its weekend festival, and caught a collection of Waldos as they were dispersing from the second day of the world record-breaking attempt.

From countrysides to coastlines, it was a very picturesque weekend that made for a lot of exploration. While I was sad to see Alex go, I am now even more excited to be here with the opportunity to experience all this.

P.S. Happy Father’s Day! I love and miss you, Dad. I am so thankful for everything. You’re the best! Love, Heather